Retold by Joanne Barkan

Illustrated by Richard Downs

 Retold by Joanne Barkan
Illustrated by Richard Downs
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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2
 Hofus, a young stonecutter, lived in  a
small  hut on a ledge halfway up the
mountain.  Day after day he hammered away
at  the mountain’s huge stones. He sang to
make  the  time pass:
I swing this hammer from dawn until night;
I’ll be swinging it still when my beard is white.

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 When Hofus finished working each day,
he  sat in front of his hut and watched
the sunset. There, he would sigh and sing
some  more:
The mountain is tall, and the sky is taller.
What about Hofus? He couldn’t be smaller.

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 One day Hofus rolled his full wheelbarrow
down the mountain and hurried to a nearby
town where a prince had built his palace.
“I am Hofus, the stonecutter,” he said,
“and  the gardener ordered these stones.”
“You can take them to the garden,” the
gatekeeper said.

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 Hofus had never been inside the palace
gate.  “The trees are as tall as giants,” he
thought, “and the paths are so long.”
As Hofus began to unload the stones, he
heard running feet. He looked up to see
four  servants carrying a grand sedan chair.
They stopped in front of the palace, and
then  two more servants appeared.

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7
 The servants laid down a mat, opened
the sedan door, and a young man dressed
in  lavish silk clothes stepped out.
“Get me a cup of peach nectar,” he
ordered  one servant. “Get me a cake,” he
ordered another. “Fill my bath with hot
water,” he  ordered a third.
Hofus watched in awe as the prince
entered  the palace with his servants.

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9
 Hofus finished unloading the stones and
rolled his empty wheelbarrow back up the
mountain. He sat down in front of his hut
and  started singing a new song:
Oh, I wish I could be a powerful prince!
I wish, oh, I wish to be Hofus, the prince!
Suddenly a loud voice said, “ARE YOU
SURE?”
Hofus jumped up and asked in a hushed
voice, “Who said that?”

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 “I AM THE SPIRIT OF THE MOUNTAIN.”
“The what?” Hofus asked.
“I MAKE WISHES COME TRUE—AND
HERE COMES YOURS!”

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 Hofus blinked and found himself sitting
in  a hot bath. One servant held a golden
soap  dish, and a second servant held a
silver  scrub brush.
“Prince Hofus,” a third servant said,
“the  royal bedtime snack is ready. Are you
ready for the royal towel?”
“Well . . . yes,” Hofus said.
When he was dry and dressed in a silk
kimono, Hofus thought, “I am powerful!”
Hofus finished eating his snack and said,
“I’m very sleepy.”
Two servants leaped to open the curtains
around his bed. Hofus whispered, “I like
being a powerful prince.”

12
13
 When Hofus awoke, the sun was bright
and strong. After breakfast, he strolled in
the  garden where the sun seemed to get
more  powerful every minute.
“Bring me a sun umbrella,” Hofus ordered.
Two servants came running with a large
umbrella. They held it over Hofus, but he
still  felt the sun grow more powerful.
“Bring me a fan,” Hofus ordered.
Two more servants came with large fans.
They fanned Hofus as he walked, but the
sun  grew even more powerful. He sat down
on  a bench and sang a new song:
Being a powerful prince is a thrill;
Until you find out what’s more powerful still.
Oh, make me the sun—it’s my wish and
my will.

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 Hofus heard the loud voice of the
Spirit of the Mountain. “HERE COMES
YOUR  WISH!”
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 Hofus, now the sun, looked down on the
world  where he saw people everywhere put
up  their sun umbrellas. He saw them fan
themselves. He saw them search for shade.
Suddenly, Hofus couldn't see anything!
“A cloud is blocking my view! Move, cloud!”
he  shouted.
The cloud wouldn't budge and there was
nothing Hofus could do. After a minute or so,
he  sang:
A cloud that is powerful beats even me;
So a cloud is exactly what I wish to be!
Again Hofus heard the Spirit of the
Mountain.  “HERE COMES YOUR WISH!”

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17
 Hofus, the cloud, looked down at the
world,  where he saw people everywhere
happily close their umbrellas and put away
their fans.
“Now nothing is more powerful than I
am,”  Hofus thought.
Hofus covered the sun as it moved across
the sky. In the late afternoon, the sun
dropped  lower and lower and Hofus floated
down with it.

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 Suddenly, Hofus was caught and he
couldn’t  move up or down.
“Let me go!” Hofus shouted.
The mountain ignored him, so Hofus
pushed  and pulled, but he couldn’t free
himself.  Finally,  he sang out:
Oh, Spirit, I want to wish again.
Please make me a powerful mountain!
The Spirit’s voice sounded tired.
“OK, HERE IT COMES.”

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 Hofus, the mountain, looked down and
saw  his cliffs, streams, and lovely waterfall.
Clank, clank! clank!
“Who’s making that noise?” Hofus
wondered. He inspected his own slopes until
he found a  stonecutter hammering away at
the  rocky  side.
“Stop that right now!” Hofus shouted.
The stonecutter continued. Clank,
clank,  crash!  A block of stone fell and the
stonecutter hammered on another rock.
“He’s more powerful than a mountain!”
Hofus thought.

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 Hofus heard the deep voice. “DO YOU
WANT TO MAKE ANOTHER WISH?”
“Yes!” Hofus said. “I wish that I was a
powerful stonecutter.”
The Spirit of the Mountain answered,
“YOU ALREADY ARE THAT
STONECUTTER.”

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 Hofus blinked, and he was sitting in
front  of  his small hut. After a few minutes,
Hofus sang a new song:
The mountain is tall, and taller the skies;
What about Hofus? He’s learned to be wise.

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 Folktale
Level N • 923 Words

Hofus is a stonecutter who lives in Japan. He

meets the spirit of the mountain who can grant
his wishes. But sometimes getting what you
wish for teaches you a lesson you didn’t expect.

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